The wordly perspective versus the view of God
Numbers Chapter 22-24
In the last devotion we discussed the game of telephone and left off after verse 21. Today’s devotion starts in Numbers 22:22 and goes through chapter 24. Balaam is on a journey to Moab to meet with Balak. Balak is asking Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel so he can defeat them, but God is instructing Balaam to only do and speak as He instructs o the journey.
Balak met Balaam as he entered the city in verses 36 & 37. He was upset that it had taken Balaam so long to make it there. Balak is still wanting Balaam to curse the people of Israel so that he can defeat them in battle. In Numbers 22:41 the bible says that the next morning Balak took Balaam to a place where he could see the outskirts of the camp of Israel. Over chapters 23 and 24 of Numbers, Balak takes Balaam to three different places to look out at the people of Israel and their camps. Each time it is Balak’s hope that Balaam will see what he sees in the people of Israel and he will curse them so that Balak can have victory over the people. Each new location that Balaam is led to, he asks Balak to build an altar and make sacrifices. Each time the sacrifices were made, the Lord instructed Balaam to take His message back to Balak. The message was, the people of Israel are blessed. This upsets Balak. In Numbers 23:11 Balak says to Balaam that he has brought him here to curse the people but that he is only blessing them. He is angry, but he doesn’t give up. He still thinks he can convince Balaam to see it his way. He takes him to the second location and then the third. The third time Balaam stands up to speak God’s word, Balaam says of Israel in verse 9- those who bless you will be blessed and those who curse you will be cursed. This still isn’t enough for Balak. The bible says he became furious with Balaam and tried to send him away, but Balak responded in verses 12-14 'Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me: If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord ’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says. Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future.” Balaam then goes on to tell Balak how Israel will be victorious against their enemies because they are blessed by the Lord. In verse 25 it says that Balaam then got up and went home.
How many times does the world or the enemy try to get us to see things one way when God wants us to see it another. Balak was an evil man that wanted to defeat God’s people. He tried and tried to get Balaam to see the people of God through his eyes. He tried to paint them as evil and as the enemy. He wanted Balaam to turn from God and curse the people. Balaam held strong. Each time he was taken to a new location and tempted by Balak, he prayed. He sought out the Lord and what he was supposed to say. I think this world has so much evil in it currently that Christians are often pitted against each other. The enemy wants us to see our fellow Christians as wrong for one reason or another. The enemy wants us to see things from a different perspective so we turn from God. Then enemy doesn’t want us to stand up and speak out for God. The world doesn’t want to hear us stand up and speak for God. The world wants a watered-down version of truth at best.
Don’t let the enemy cloud your vision of God, God’s word, your fellow Christians, or anything God is trying to show you. Don’t let the enemy cause you to not stand firmly on the truth and speak boldly for God.
We are tempted everyday to see things from a worldly perspective rather than a Christian perspective. We are tempted every day to water down our truth or not speak what God calls us to speak. Be like Balaam, turn to God with every temptation and speak boldly the truth of the Lord, and don’t allow the enemy to lead you to see things from the world’s perspective.